Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-11-09
THE VERNON WRECK.
The Story of the Only SurvivOr-BOdles
Recovered from the Lake.

The Story of the Only SurvivOr-Bodies
Recovered from the Lake.
Lake Michigan has given up twenty
two of the bodies of the victims of the
Vernon and they are now laid out In
the engine house at Two Rivers, where
the following have been identified:
George Thorpe, captain; John Sullivan,
F. w. Burk, clerk; Martin LIE Beau,
Hazelton, cabin boy; E. B. Borland,
passenger, Milwaukee. Nine bodies
have been picked up and taken
to Two Rivers. Nineteen have been re-
covered, ten more have been picked up
in the meantime. Of these the tug AL
5atross brought in nine, the Commodore
Mutt five and the Edict five. There are
five fishing tugs running out from Two
Rivers and all these are constantly on
the lookout for bodies on the ill-tated
steamer and any wreckage which may
be floating about. The bodies were all
found about twelve miles northeast of
Two Rivers. Five of them were to-
gether and others were picked up with
in short distance of each other.
Axel Stone, the sole survivor of the
wreck, passed through Milwaukee on
his way to Chicago on the I'd. He APP
peared quite comfortable, but it will be
some time before he fully RECEIVERS from
the terrible exposure, and will be sent
to the marine hospital in Chicago to re-
cuperate Stone reiterated in every de-
tail the interview with him in Green
Bay. Marine men who read his story
doubted very much some of his state
ments, as for instance the assertion that
the gangways were left open and that
the propeller was as deeply loaded as
Stone claimed. When questioned on
these points, Stone said:
Yes, it is true that both her forward
gang-ways were lett open-that is the
upper half of them which swung upon
hinges. The lower parts were in place,
but the upper parts of the two forward
gang-ways had been left tied up, and
the freight piled clear up to the hurri-
cane deck, beside the open gang-ways."
''How was it that the gang ways were
left open?" asked the reporter.
Il don't know, except that the wealth
er was pleasant when she was loading,
Friday, there being no sea whatever on
the east shore, and the officers probably
thought they were going to have pleas
ant run across the lake that night, and
SO neglected to close them.
"When she encountered the heavy
through the open gang-ways. After the
boat had three feet OF water in her hold,
I went to Capt. Thorpe on deck and
suggested that some of the deck load be
jettisoned, so that the gang-ways could
be closed down. and he told me to go
to hell that he was running the boat"
"Was the boat as deeply laden as you
are reported to have said?"
"Well, she had an inch and half of
freeboard on one side and six inches on
the other. It was the biggest load had
ever seen on her."
care you certain that there were
twenty passengers aboard ?'
well, | am positive that sixteen got
on at st. Ignace, thirteen of them deck
passengers, or laboring men, none Of
whom probably belonged there and
their identity may never be estab-
lished."
Stone says it was about 3 o'clock in
the morning when he was awakened
and that when he jumped out of his
berth the water was rushing into his
room. He grabbed life preserver, put
it about him and jumped through the
window, swimming to the raft on which
he hoated fifty hours.